Day 6 - September 9 - Part 1So why Idaho you may ask? The story goes back a few years.
There used to be a magazine called "Truckin's SUV" which is since defunct. I started reading it as I was planning to get my original (blue) Trailblazer. I guess that is the genesis of my "expedition/exploration" bug as they tried to include an offroad adventure in every issue. The December 2001 issue had a write up of what is called "Little Switzerland" in East-Central Idaho.
It intrigued me at the time because it helped me realize that it wasn't only Colorado that had the Rocky Mountains, they must of course pass through other states as they make their way north to Canada. Plus the magazine had pictures of river crossings, remote 2-track trails, everything that was exotic to me at the time.
Luckily I kept the magazine stored away and when this trip was taking shape, I dug it out and decided to work Idaho into my itinerary during my northern route going west.
During my research I decided to do a bit of online searching to see if there was a guide for the area similar to the great
Peter Massey books I used for my Colorado trip 2 years ago. Luckily there is a guide by a local brother & sister, the Howard's, that is on par with the Massey books ...
Backcountry Roads - Idaho. Leland Howard is a professional photography so the imagery in their book is spectacular. The guiding and GPS info is not as detailed as in the Massey books but still more than acceptable.
I ordered this book and picked it up at my mailbox in Niagara Falls on day 1 of this trip. Reading through it makes me want to come back to the very scenic and very interesting state of Idaho!
Heading north out of Idaho Falls, I first crossed a wide basin that is situated in front of the Rocky Mountains. This basin along with how the mountain ranges I was heading to are situated prompts the writers to say this:
"Gas stations are distant from the expedition starting points. There is no cellphone coverage."
Another interesting fact about this area is that it qualifies as a "cold desert", receiving most of its moisture in the form of snow during the winter months. It definitely looked very dry when I was there.
My goal for this day was to head north into the mountains, cross 3 ranges which come down like fingers with flats between them, and then head south to Twin Falls, ID. The first was the Lemhi Range and the historic Charcoal Kilns, page 187 of the book. To get to the Kilns you take one of a multitude of roads and tracks that crisscross the flat, this is where the book comes in handy as it has exact mileage and GPS coordinates. Crossing the flats here always means that you will probably encounter cattle herds. The trick is to drive through slowly and honk the horn if necessary.
The charcoal kilns are on the eastern edge of the Targhee National Forest. There is a small parking lot with some historical information and a water well, but I am not sure if it is potable water. The book explains that 16 kilns were built in 1883, only 3 remain. They were designed to process the local wood into charcoal, that would then be used at the nearby Viola lead mine's smelter.
My next destination was Spring Mountain Canyon and the pass road that would take me over the Lemhi mountain range. The road tops out at 10,007 feet near Big Windy Peak and is the highest road elevation described in the book, on page 181.
To get to the start of the trail, I decided to use my GPS and cut across the flat going north instead of backtracking all the way back to the main road. After opening and closing a couple of gates (as requested by the National Forest signs), I stopped to take a picture of where I came from. You can make out the long, lonely track all the way back to the last hill. The mud is from a couple wet areas of the track, but it was mostly dry going.
At the point where I picked up the route from the book, I stopped to talk to a couple who were out hunting
Pronghorn Antelope in the NF. Although all I saw were cattle, the gentlemen said that he had spotted a couple of bucks with his high powered binoculars, but they were really waiting for dusk when they come out in the open more.
Addendum from Day 4
Here are the Wiki links to my other wildlife mentions: Prairie Dog, Bighorn Sheep, Bison.The Spring Mountain Canyon trail started up the mountain right away, and it got extremely rocky and bumpy right away too! It was definitely slow going all the way up to the pass. In fact, the book warns the reader about this as well. The trail got very scenic after clearing the tree line and reminded me of the great trails in Colorado.
Continued ...Day 6 - September 9 - Part 2
Challis National Forest is right next to Targhee, so as soon as you crest the pass and start down, your are in Challis. There were a couple of tricky spots in terms of navigation as the main trail down was not immediately evident. But after a couple of false starts, I got on the main one and headed down to the next flat. Going down was a little better then going up, but still pretty bumpy!
The next destination required me to go a bit more north in the flat and then west into the Lost River Range, page 169 in the book. This is where it all started as the original SUV magazine's article described the Upper Pahsimeroi river and the foothills of the Lost River Range of mountains. The reason this area has a nickname of "Little Switzerland" is because bunched together in this range are 7 of Idaho's 9 peaks over 12,000 feet. The trail (as described in the book) takes you right up close to this concentration of peaks.
Unfortunately, I misjudged the amount of daylight I had left so when I got to the turn off to head south towards the river and Borah & Leatherman Peaks, I made a judgement call to not go. Going that way would require a return trip back to this turn-off spot in order to then head over the pass to come out at the next flat. Even though this pass road was described as drivable 2wd road, I didn't want to try it in the dark.
As I headed towards Doublespring Pass over the Lost River Range, I pulled off on a side trail to get some sunset pictures. I was still learning the intricacies of the Nikon D200 so some results were better than others.
As I crested the pass and started down, I noticed some movement to my left far in the distance. A short while later I noticed what it was. Two Pronghorns were running in parallel to my Trailblazer, about 400 yards away. When I stopped to take pictures, they stopped. When I started up, they galloped along, it was pretty strange. Luckily the gravel road was very smooth here and I could truck along at a pretty good pace.
Even though it was dusk and getting pretty dark, I decided to get out my 500mm lens and try to snap a few shots (it needs a lot of light). These are the least blurry.
I finally got out to the Highway 93 just before it got totally dark. And therefore I had to cut my original plan short by 1/3. I was going to take Trail Creek Road (page 205 in the book) over the last "finger", the Pioneer Mountains, come out at Ketchum, and then drive south to Twin Falls. And even thought this graded gravel road was definitely rated as 2wd, I didn't see a point trying it in the dark, even with my PIAA's operational.
Ahh, forgot to mention that I had used the 4 PIAA long range lights on the Safari rack a few times up till now. You can see them uncovered in one of the pictures above. On a side note, back on day 7 after leaving Badlands NP, and on this night, driving to Twin Falls, they definitely saved my skin with wildlife crossing the road.
I always wondered if they would be effective since they are on the smaller side (I like how they fit well with the height of the rack). I am pleased to report that after I aimed them to light up ahead of me longer than the low-beams, but shorter than the high-beams, they are outstanding. In both instances some kind of deer bolted across the road at a point that would have been difficult to see with even the high beams. With the PIAA's, I was able to see the deer and slow down in time to avoid any carnage. More in another thread ... soon.
Garmin GPS Track (large file)
Garmin GPS Track - Spring Mountain Canyon - Targhee NF (large file)
September 9 Google Map
), even the elusive Ascender!
